Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja on Monday released the official minimum admissable cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions across Nigeria for the 2026 academic session.
The examination body made announcement at the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions, held at Body of Bencher Auditorium, Abuja.
According to JAMB, the minimum admissable cut-off mark for universities is now 150.
However, JAMB clarified that individual universities may set higher benchmarks based on their internal admission policies.
The body also announced cut- off marks for other categories of tertiary institutions, they are; Colleges of Nursing Sciences: 150, Polytechnics 100, and Colleges of Agriculture: 100.
“The new benchmarks were adopted after deliberations among key stakeholders, including vice chancellors, rectors, provosts, and other heads of tertiary institutions.”
Earlier in his address, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa commended JAMB for its exemplary deployment of technology in managing the nation’s admissions system.
According to him, the reliability and integrity of its data have significantly enhanced policy planning and decision-making.
“Indeed, whenever I request data from the Board, I am assured of accuracy and timeliness. This is the standard we are striving to institutionalise across the entire education sector as we move towards a more data-driven and evidence-based system of governance”.
“We meet at a time when the Nigerian education sector is undergoing deliberate and far-reaching reforms. These reforms are neither incidental nor cosmetic; they are rooted in a clear recognition that the future of our nation depends on the strength, integrity, and relevance of our educational institutions”.
He urged the tertiary education sub-sector to rise to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world, one defined by technological advancement, global competition, and the imperative of skills-driven development.
The admission deadline for public universities is October 31,2026, private universities November 30,2026 and the polytechnics/Monotechnics/Colleges of Education, December 31,2026 respectively.
